150Bond

Happy Thanksgiving!🦃 This week, our teams in Dublin and New York came together to celebrate with a delightful mix of American and Irish flavors—Thanksgiving turkey paired with traditional Irish scones. We're incredibly grateful for our amazing team and their dedication. Wishing everyone a holiday full of gratitude, great food, and good company! 🧡

We had the pleasure of hosting NYT journalists Ryan Mac and Kate Conger at our latest 150Bond Book Club to discuss their new book "Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter". To put it mildly, Musk’s $44B acquisition of Twitter was a rollercoaster. We discussed everything from the fact that when Musk cut janitorial services at the company, employees ended up having to bring their own toilet paper into the office to the overall lack of planning that the mercurial billionaire brought to a massive acquisition—including forgoing due diligence and not fully understanding the agreement he signed. Some other key points from the discussion included: -Diving deep into Musk's unorthodox management style. From impulsive decisions that turned Twitter's culture upside down overnight to literally unplugging servers, the book gets into the ways that Musk personally exerted his whims on a multi-billion-dollar company -Discussing why the deal may not be considered a success financially for Musk (Twitter is currently valued at around only $9B), but he has succeeded at other goals, like becoming both the platform's most-followed account and its main character -Projecting the way forward for Twitter, which looks like a gathering place for people who hopped to Twitter clones when Trump was banned and are now returning under Musk’s very specific views of “free speech”

As we all get to grips with the AI arms race, Jeremy Kahn’s book Mastering AI is a great read. He spoke to the team at 150Bond for our book club last month. 📕 We have a few copies of his book, if you’d like one, drop me a mail

Keeping up with the AI boom can be harder than we realize. It’s important to know how to maneuver its rapid growth and use it for good. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune’s AI Editor, wrote Mastering AI: A Survival Guide to Our Superpowered Future to help readers build a better understanding. Our team member Rafeeat B. spoke with Jeremy about the book as a part of 150Bond’s book club series. Here are some key takeaways: ⚫ Consolidation is inevitable. Many AI companies already rely on large amounts of capital and investment from Big Tech. While we may see a new company coming out every day, expect the number to dramatically reduce in the next 5 years. ⚫ Everyone will have an AI copilot in the next five years. These will reach industries like research, law, media, and medicine. However, because AI is trained from historical data, it’s vulnerable to biases, neglect, and opinions that can cause harm. To manage these risks, those developing AI must encourage independent oversight and transparency. ⚫ Envision what AI can do tomorrow, instead of ten years from today. Advancements are happening rapidly enough for us to take advantage of the tech’s current capabilities — AI has the potential to increase productivity, mentorship, and work quality. We need to shape it in the present to maximize its future benefits. We would love to share Jeremy's book - let us know if you are interested and we can send a copy out to share this AI wisdom!

It's not all corporate comms and advisory here at 150Bond! Just over a week ago, our Europe team was delighted to support the incredible folks at TikTok as they helped bring Coldplay's Chris Martin, Burna Boy, Little Simz, TINI, & Elysanna to Dublin’s Grafton Street for a surprise performance of their new single, ‘We Pray,’ ahead of Coldplay’s four sold-out Dublin shows. Congrats to everyone at TikTok for making this unforgettable moment happen. Every day is different at 150Bond. 

AI systems have been having an impact on people’s lived experiences for years – which Madhumita Murgia, AI editor at the Financial Times has been reporting on since 2012. I spoke with Madhu about her new book Code Dependant, which highlights the human impact and cost of AI systems as part of 150Bond’s book series.  Here are some areas I found particularly striking from our conversation: -AI is being used to impact huge swathes of public services. While people may be quite familiar with things like facial recognition, AI is also being used to decide things like who and more importantly, who doesn’t receive public benefits and state support. In countries like Argentina, AI predicted which women or girls were going to get pregnant to provide social services and support. Hanging that responsibility to a technical system ignores the most complex societal issues that impact that population. -There is a battle between transplant systems and AI systems to decide who gets a liver transplant in the UK. The UK’s liver transplant algorithms are biased against young people. Doing calculations, If you're under 40, you're unlikely to get a liver through the health system ever, with little recourse or explanation about why. -The most undercovered story in AI right now is how it is being used practically. There is a feeling across industries that “we should be trying it out” but, we should be looking at where it’s actually useful and where it may be inaccurate or failing to the point that companies are wasting their money and energy.

Some promotion news:  In our New York office, Orlaith Farrell is now a Senior Vice President with Sarah Meade becoming a Vice President.  In our European headquarters in Dublin, Séamus Conwell is being made Vice President, and Ella Tubridy is now a Senior Account Executive. Orlaith has been with 150Bond since its infancy. Her specialty lies in Venture Capital where she has built a reputation as an expert on firm-wide and portfolio communications and crisis communications.  Sarah brings her vast experience working within government to partners on both sides of the Atlantic. With an extensive knowledge of global policy and media, she is trusted counsel to a host of tech companies and NGOs. Seamus has been with 150Bond since 2018. He is a specialist storyteller across deep technology topics like AI, Fintech and Web3. Seamus is an expert in media relations. He manages clients across Europe, the US and Asia.  Ella joined our Dublin team in 2023 from the United Nations in New York. She has quickly proved herself in media relationships with clients in fintech, NGO and social media. “These individuals embody the best of 150Bond, they’re incredibly talented, strategic and  persistent. Most importantly, they’re great colleagues.” — 150Bond Co-Managing Partner Daire Hickey. We extend congratulations to our colleagues on their well-deserved promotions.

150Bond is looking for a Senior Account Manager. 13 job opportunities available on our website https://lnkd.in/g_5bu3Y

We’re looking for experienced and creative comms folks, who relish the opportunity to work directly with CEOs, founders, and investors to tell impactful stories. If you're interested in advising the most exciting entrepreneurs, working with world-class journalists, or launching the latest AI project, we’d love to hear from you. We are hiring a Senior Account Manager in Dublin. Apply now - https://lnkd.in/eCHWtbd8 150Bond

We’re delighted to announce the well-deserved promotions of Naomi Ruth Harrington to Associate Director and Xenia Keppler-Gouras to Senior Account Executive. Naomi started at 150Bond as an account executive over five years ago and has since been promoted several times. She consistently demonstrates exceptional dedication, leadership, and expertise in leading a global team across sustainability, tech and DE&I. Naomi is a trusted advisor to clients, sought out for her strategic advice and skilled media relations. She has driven results for clients that have helped grow their brands, reach new customers and investors, and prepare for IPOs and exits. In the past 16 months, Xenia has built her media relations and client management skills. She has led mobility and climate tech clients providing thoughtful research and effective bond building. 150Bond Managing Partner Jennifer (Jenn) Ok said: “Both Naomi and Xenia exemplify the characteristics of our team. They are thoughtful and strategic in their approach to clients - always thinking about creating meaningful impact. They consistently show dedication and commitment to their clients. Congratulations, both.”